“Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”- Isaiah 41:10
COVID-19 has changed our calendars. Of the many things that have changed, I think sports have changed the most. Events that we all love and enjoy have just been taken off the calendar. Most recently, The Boston Marathon was cancelled. It is the first time in the 124-year history that this great event has been cancelled. How sad! This marathon always seems to bring out some great triumphs for all to celebrate.
When I read about the cancelation of the Boston Marathon, I was reminded about Maickel Melamed, a 39-year-old man from Venezuela who successfully completed the Boston Marathon. There are not a lot of people in the world who can say they completed a marathon. Completing a 26.2-mile run is a great accomplishment. But Maickel finish was something a bit more special. Maickel has muscular dystrophy. This disorder has given him tremendous mobility issues. Unable to run, he walked the entire course. It took him just over 20 hours to complete the marathon. That is 20 hours without stopping, one step at a time. During the 20-hour race, Maickel endured fatigue, rain, cold weather and the darkness of night. Through it all, he endured and stepped across the finish line to the cheers of a massive crowed gathered there at five in the morning to celebrate his accomplishment.
During the race, Maickel struggled to keep going. The crowd of people with him cheered him on. When he was on the verge of collapsing, they would hold on to him and encourage him for another step, often chanting out loud the step count.
Maickel’s team was so important to him overcoming his physical limitations and accomplishing his goal of finishing the marathon. In an interview after the race Maickel said, “You cannot achieve extraordinary stuff without connecting to a team.”
By himself, Maickel could not have finished the race. He simply was too limited in his mobility, but as a team, supported by a crowd of people who believe, Maickel accomplished the impossible.
So often in life we have a great dream, a goal that we never accomplish simply because we never try. We see insurmountable obstacles in our way and tell ourselves, “I can’t do that.” The truth is there are many things we cannot overcome by ourselves. Thanks be to God, we are not alone! We are a family of faith. We are in this season of life together. God is with us and the difficult times that are ahead of us will be overcome as we take one step at a time together.
– Keith King, Pastor of Worship
